The Whispering Woods
"Creeping voices in the night. Shadows lurking out of sight. Haunt me till the morning's light. No sleeping for me tonight." - A simple poem written by the inhabitants of a neighboring village History The Whispering Woods appeared shortly after Oustomia was created. The ley lines that formed the magical lifeblood of the planet gave birth to the ley stones, focal points where the energies of different planes connected with the Material Plane. The stone that the Whispering Woods formed around connected to the Plane of Shadow. Its dark and chaotic energies attracted the attention of none other than the mother of horrors, Shub-Niggurath. The Elder Goddess used her vile power to combine her essence with that of the Shadow Stone, corrupting it with infinite insanity. This merging created the Mist, a sentient fusion of the insanity of the Elder Gods and the chaotic forces of the Plane of Shadow. As the Black Goat returned to the Dark Tapestry between the stars to further breed more of her monstrous offspring throughout the cosmos, the Mist was left bonded to the ley stone. It dwelt there amongst the budding saplings with a will of its own. A will twisted beyond the scope of mortal man's comprehension. The growing plants fell under the sway of the Mist's godlike psychic powers. They lost their green coloring, fading to ashen gray, and grew into grotesque shapes inspired by the nightmares of the Mist. People avoided the forest soon after the Mist's conception, for all who ventured near it began to hear a quiet voice in their head. It muttered something different to all who heard it, but without fail it began to drive the victims mad. This is how the Whispering Woods got its name. The Mist continued to grow in power, or rather, it came to learn the extent of its inherent abilities. The minds of the puny mortals who approached its dwelling were like open books, and the Mist held a pen dipped in poison to rewrite their stories. From these minds, the Mist gathered information about the rest of the world, the workings of these lesser gods, and how the mortals formed their petty kingdoms that only lasted for the blink of an eye. Their strife and conflicts were the Mist's sole source of amusement, and it never ceased in its efforts to push any mortals foolish enough to come within its reach further and further beyond their limits. As time passed, the strength of the Mist intensified as its incorporeal form became filled with the shattered minds of its victims. The Whispering Woods were covered in a permanent layer of fog that was so thick it was almost as dark as night in the middle of the day. As soon as the sunlight fell, horrific figures would emerge from the Mist and haunt the vision of those who dared come close enough to look at it. Adults who came that close often never found their way back, and inevitably succumbed to the whisperings in their heads, granting the Mist yet another mind for its grand puppetry. A strange exception to this were children, especially those who were particularly bright. The Mist found that a child, if caught young enough, was capable of hearing the whispers and not lose their sanity. It gathered as many such children as it could find, teaching them the truths of the Elder Gods, and filling them with its intense hatred of the pathetic kingdoms of the mortals of the world. These children became known as Mist Speakers. They were granted immortality and immense strength, and could hear the voice of the Mist regardless of where they were, the Mist breaching all barriers and reaching across any distance to its chosen few. The Mist Speakers spread the message of the Mist to the unwillingly ignorant and worked from the shadows to sew chaos amongst the lands of those who would dare blaspheme the names of the Elder Mythos. The Mist spent thousands of years biding its time, letting its children carry out its mad will while it occupied its time luring more and more victims into its shade, and raising Mist Speakers to bolster its grasp on the surrounding kingdoms. However, the Mist was not foolish enough to attempt to directly assault the lands of elves and men. It knew that the combined might of the entire world could overcome even its divine power, and so it chose to sink into obscurity. The eternal activity of the Mist Speakers kept it informed of the happenings throughout the continents. The tales of wars and plagues and heroes and villains, humans becoming gods, gods being slain, all the chaos and destruction wrought by the hands of others...filled the Mist with great gladness. It knew that in time it would find a way to break the bond with the Shadow Stone that held it in place, allowing the Mist to traverse the surface of Oustomia to cover the world in an all-consuming darkness. Despite how sinister its insane plans were, the Mist did not appear aggressive to the outside world. In fact, some bold souls even built villages along the edges of the Whispering Woods, just outside of the Mist's sway. The Mist allowed the existence of these trespassers because from time to time, in every generation or so, one of their children proved to be talented enough to join the fold of the Mist Speakers. The Mist even went so far as to guard the villages that had consistently shown promise by either driving the attackers insane or giving shelter to the villagers as they fled, hiding their presence in the fog. Even for the best of villages, though, no mercy was shown after dark for those brave or foolish enough to be in the woods. The specters of people long gone would prey upon them like lambs to the slaughter. Only the occasional scream pierced the night, otherwise, there was silence. An ancient prophecy states that when the Mist raises the fog and reveals its assembled forces to the world, the nations of mankind will crumble, and there will be a return to the darkness that existed before creation as the madness of the Elder Gods consumes all. Geography & Ecology The Whispering Woods lies to the northeast of the Krakenal Expanse. It is always cold there, the land itself cursed with the chilling presence of both the Shadow Ley Stone and the Mist. The ground is relatively level, no hills or mountains daring to peak where the Mist resided. The soil is always damp and chilled. The plant life is sustained by the Mist's own life force, and any that is removed from the fog quickly shrivels and dies. There are no known animals that are native to the Whispering Woods. Sometimes monsters with such low intelligence that the Mist isn't interested in them wander in and make their dens within the edges of the fog to prey on travelers or tourists. Anything bold enough to endure the supernatural chill and face the specters dwelling in the mists is a serious threat to any would be explorers. During the brightest portions of the day, when the sun is at its highest, the woods take on a more peaceful and friendly appearance. To the innocent of mind, whom the Mist would perhaps one day claim for its own, the constant whispers are hushed laughter and barely inaudible jokes. The figures dancing through the fog are those of smiling fairies and friendly looking animals. They even play with children who don't venture too deep. Once the sun sets, however, everything changes. The whispers revert to muffled screams of unending agony and torture, or incoherent babblings of madmen. The shapes coming from the mist are insanity inducing monstrosities that have been bent and torn from their original forms into whatever the Mist imagines them to be. Notable Inhabitants The Mist - A child of Shub-Niggurath and the living energies of the Plane of Shadow, the Mist is immensely powerful, far beyond any mortal means, and is capable of concealing things even from the gods. It takes pleasure in breaking the minds of the short lived races who venture within its grasp, and commands a small army of Mist Speakers who carry out its will around the world as immortal, crazed servants. It grants it's followers access to the Madness, Darkness, Chaos, and Charm domains to its. followers. The Shadow Ley Stone '''- Formed at the dawn of Oustomia, comprised of the manifested magical essences of both the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane, and granting whoever attunes with it great powers, this Ley Stone is just as prime a target for covetous mages and shadow wielders around the world as any other. However, this Ley Stone is guarded by the Mist, which no one has ever managed to slip past to gain the powers of the stone. '''Mist Speakers - The children abducted and brainwashed by the Mist, these people have been granted immortality and inhuman strength from their master as they perform clandestine acts of sabotage and subterfuge around the world, indoctrinating those who will listen into the Mist Cult. They can hear the voice of the Mist no matter where they are in the world, or what world they are on. Incredibly difficult to kill, and nigh impossible to reason with once they set their minds to something they believe to further the cause of the Mist, these men and women will stop at nothing when their lord commands them. Surrounding Villagers - Those who dwell within sight of the fogs inside the Whispering Woods, and can hear the calling of the Mist should they stray too close, are certainly worthy of note. Oftentimes they are a family or clan fleeing from persecution or enslavement elsewhere, hiding in a place no sane tracker would have the guts to follow. Others are wizards or alchemists and their servants who were attempting to research the Mist and end up deciding they never want to leave. Once another generation is born within the radius of influence that the Mist can exert, the children often possess strange powers, manifestations of the Mist preparing them for selection.__FORCETOC__ Category:Places